My Fitness Journey
π March 10, 2025 - Training Log
π Daily Stats
Weight: 189.6 - Ooof. This is the highest my weight has been in a long time. The last two years, it has become harder and harder to take care of my health. Time to get back on the horse! Hopefully joining MFP can help me get back into the routine of taking care of myself and putting my health first!
- Sleep: 7 Hours 55 minutes - Woke up feeling pretty well today! Have been working on cutting out alcohol and that always helps me to sleep much better. Yesterday was day one of going alcohol free and today will be day #2 so hopefully will be able to get a similar level of deep quality sleep tonight! Will hopefully be able to get a little more as I did still stay up too last last night.
Diet:
- Breakfast: 2 Cups of Black Coffee
- Lunch: Yam, Chickpea, and Cauliflower Curry with Basmati Rice
- Dinner: West Indian Coconut Chickpea Curry with Jasmine Rice
Thoughts: Nutrition today was very good. Did very well taking care of what I put inside my body and felt very good for it. I've been in a horrible routine of living off of fast food and alcohol for a while now and it's literally been killing me. Need to learn how to be more mindful of my health and what I'm putting inside my body and how it makes me feel. Hopefully this will help me to do so!
ποΈββοΈ Workouts
- Afternoon Workout: 5 mile walk / run. This one was pretty brutal. I used to be a very good endurance athlete, even finished a 70.3 a few years ago but the last few year my fitness levels have fallen off a cliff. Went for a 3 mile run last night and definitely felt the fatigue as I was running and had to walk a lot. Will probably have short recovery walk / jog tomorrow. Keep it nice and short to help me get my legs back!
- Evening Workout: 10 minute spin on the bike and then a 45 minute prehab session:
Open Book
Ankle Dorsiflexion
Shoulder External Rotation Walkout
Side Plank
Standing Thing Ball Squeeze
Bodyweight Squat Hold
Theraband Pull Aparts
Hip External Rotation
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts
Heel Raises
- Key Notes: Evening training session felt ok. Did a quick 10 minute spin on the bike to loosen up the legs. Then had a 45 minute session with the Prehab app, and fitness app designed by physical therapists. Really helps my develop some decent levels of functional strength and help my body feel like it's operating and working quite a bit better.
Felt ok tho. Only second workout back for the first time in a long time, so obviously can tell I've lost a lot of mobility and strength with even these simple exercises. Doesn't take long for a lot of discomforts and pains to start disappearing tho. About a week or so and the body should be feeling a lot better.
π Thoughts & Reflections
- Energy Levels: Felt good! Ate healthy yesterday and today with no alcohol and felt like sleep was good and energy levels were good all day. No stress from work. Nice and relaxing day.
- Recovery Check: Legs were definitely fatigued with the run in the early afternoon. Will definitely take advantage of a recovery day from running tomorrow.
- Biggest Win Today: Got in the gym twice to day. Felt good, focused, energetic and motivated. Hopefully can keep it up!
- Challenges Faced: A little bit of overwhelm trying to figure out what all I want to track fitness wise. Besides that all was good.
- Plan for Tomorrow: Tomorrow will probably feature a light recover walk or spin and another nice long prehab session.
Replies
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It all sounds like you are moving in the right direction. Do you see yourself training for a triathlon again fairly soon? What 70.3 did you do?
I've only done sprint ones in my area so far but . . . I'd love to do the Panama City Beach Half Iron next summer. A lot would have to go right in the weight loss and training department for that to happen, though.
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I go back and forth to be honest. I loved the 70.3 and training that led up to it, but it did take up a tonnnnn of time, and there were other aspects of my fitness that got neglected while I was doing so that I don't want to sacrifice. Mostly my prehab routines and the functional strength I feel like I have when I've been in that routine for a while. I won't totally rule it out, but the only way I think I would do it is if I had a routine where I was alternating days between triathlon training with my prehab workouts, and my fitness level would have to naturally rise back up a ton before I could even consider it π
Panama City is actually the one I did, back in 2021. I wanted the most flat track I could find bc I knew I would struggle on the bike, so that's the one I went with. It's a fantastic goal for you to have tho! That would be awesome if you can, it was definitely a wonderful experience I think about often.
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π 3/11 - Fitness Journal
πͺ Daily Stats
- Weight: 186.6
- Sleep: 8 hours 22 minutes
- Hydration: 128 oz of water
- Mood: Positive
- Overall Thoughts on Today: Today felt good! Felt like energy levels were high all day long even though sleep was not great last night, tossed and turned in bed all night, should improve over the next couple of days with a better routine. Did not feel like I needed to take a nap after work like I often do. Felt overall positively as well. Didn't find myself battling negative emotions very much today which is a step in the right direction.
π½οΈ Diet
- Breakfast: 2 cups of black coffee
- Lunch: Yam, Chickpea, and Cauliflower Curry
- Dinner: Mexican-Style Chorizo breakfast Burrito with Salsa
- Seared Shrimp & Quinoa bowl with Creamy Avocado Sauce
- Snacks: none
- Total Calories: 2,115
- Thoughts on Diet: Felt pretty good with this today too! Ate two of my Cook Unity Meals for dinner which felt a bit overboard but lunch was not extremely filling and felt like I had the room for it to eat a second meal to satisfy my craving for food. Should be able to align my meals better tomorrow. But was able to reject fast food and alcohol so that's a bonus.
ποΈββοΈ Workouts
Afternoon Workout:
- Type: 2-mile Run
- Duration: 22 minutes
- Intensity: Easy
- Notes on Workout: Kept a short run today. Third day in a row of running so legs are feeling pretty fatigued. Really trying to run every day for a week or two to get some positive momentum going, may only be one or two miles the next couple of days.
Evening Workout:
- Type: Prehab Workout
- Duration: 1 Hour
- Exercises Performed: Open Book, Ankle Dorsiflexion Stretch, Eccentric Shoulder External Rotation Walkout, Side Plank, Standing Thigh Ball Squeeze, Bodyweight Squat Hold, Theraband Pull Aparts, Lying Hip External Rotation, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Calf Raises
- Notes on Workout: Felt a little better than the previous couple of days. Definitely felt a little better muscle activation with some of the movements, joints felt like they were functioning a little better. Strength felt like it was coming back some with the deadlifts. Still a long long long way to go.
π Thoughts & Reflections
- Energy Levels: Higher than normal
- Recovery Check: Overall still feeling pretty stiff mobility wise and a lack of muscle activation, should improve with time. Legs are definitely very fatigued from the past days of running.
- Biggest Win Today: Rejecting Fast Food and Alcohol
- Challenges Faced: Stressful second job at work today, would have often times lead to compulsively eating fast food. Thankfully was able to control myself and wait to eat dinner when I got home.
- Plan for Tomorrow: Good night's rest tonight. Probably only a one mile run tomorrow and then more prehab work. Probably gonna eat a higher calorie lunch so I don't feel as hunger and can have a smaller size portion when I get back for dinner so hopefully can resist cravings more.
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π 3/12 - Fitness Journal
πͺ Daily Stats
- Weight: 186.2
- Sleep: 8 hours 20 minutes
- Hydration: 128 oz
- Mood: Solid
- Overall Thoughts on Today: Today was ok. A ton of driving for work so that was frustrating, but was able to control emotions pretty well. Laid down for 30 minutes after work, but didn't feel like I really "needed it" like I have in the past. Felt pretty good. Had enough energy to still workout later.
π½οΈ Diet
- Breakfast: 2 Cups Black Coffee
- Lunch: Italian Sausage & Beef Lasagna with Creamy Bechamel Sauce
- Dinner: BBQ Chicken Burrito Bowl
- Snacks: None
- Total Calories: 2,000
- Thoughts on Diet: Felt good about what I put into my body today. Was definitely ready to eat by the time lunch time had come around but wasn't really craving anything bad and felt satisfied after I finished eating. Was ready to eat dinner by the time I got home but didn't feel any desire to eat more after one Cook Unity meal.
ποΈββοΈ Workouts
Running Workout:
- Type: 2 Mile Run at 9:11 pace
- Duration: 18 minutes
- Intensity: Moderate
- Notes on Workout: Run felt pretty good. Definitely better than yesterday. Felt like my legs were definitely under me better. Planned a short run the whole time, don't want to burn myself out. Probably another couple days of two mile runs coming up.
Gym Workout: Prehab
- Type: Prehab, Mobility and Strength Work
- Duration: 1 Hour
- Intensity: Easy
- Exercises: Open Book, Ankle Dorsiflexion Stretch, Eccentric Shoulder External Rotation Walkout, Side Plank, Standing Thigh Ball Squeeze, Bodyweight Squat Hold, Theraband Pull Aparts, Lying External Hip Rotation, Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts, Heel Raises
- Notes on Workout: Definitely the best feeling workout this week. Should continue to steadily improve with each day. Body control is getting there and strength is feeling a little better, still a long way to go. Have lost a lot of strength, will take months to get back to normal.
π Thoughts & Reflections
- Energy Levels: Medium. Better than they have been. I was a little tired from work but not too bad.
- Recovery Check: Body is feeling much better today than it did after the run yesterday. Should be even better tomorrow. Didn't push myself too hard, should be able to get plenty of nice recovery, and be ready to go for tomorrows work.
- Biggest Win Today: Being able to deal with a lot of driving and stressful traffic and not spiraling with negative emotions. Rejected fast food and alcohol for another day. Felt good running and in the gym and should be even more recovered tomorrow.
- Challenges Faced: Lots of stress driving, distracted myself with my phone which is not good. Need to focus more and just relax when on the road.
- Plan for Tomorrow: Want to wake up earlier tomorrow morning to check in with all my different groups on MFP. Also give myself time to weigh in and take progress photo and be able to enjoy a cup of coffee. Want to be able to relax some before I have to get on the road. Will get back and plan on another short run unless my body is feeling significantly better and then some more time in the gym.
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π 3/13 - Fitness Journal
πͺ Daily Stats
- Weight: 185
- Sleep: 8 hours 1minutes
- Hydration: 64 oz / ___ liters of water
- Mood: Focused (e.g., energetic, motivated, stressed)
- Overall Thoughts on Today: Today was a good day, same results with my diet as the rest of the week, ate nice and clean with no cheating or breaks. I still feel like I need to get better rest. The reported hours on my watch I feel are definitely not accurate. It's been a busy last couple of days so getting to bed at a good early hour has been a little more difficult and left me still feeling tired. Hopefully can get that fixed in the next few nights and hopefully will get a good night of rest tonight.
π½οΈ Diet
- Breakfast: 2 Cups Black Coffee
- Lunch: Taco Bowl with Black Beans and Quinoa
- Dinner: Creamy Cajun Pasta with Andouille Sausage w/ Non-Alcoholic Corona
- Snacks: None
- Total Calories: 1,585
- Thoughts on Diet: I felt like my nutrition today was good. Taco bowl was definitely a good choice, delicious and nice and filling and hit the spot. Wasn't feeling too hungry or craving food too bad by lunch time today, was starting to feel hungry and ready to eat by the time dinner came around. Was wondering if I would feel satisfied after eating the pasta, let it sit for 10 minutes, finished my non-alcoholic beer and decided I didn't need to eat anymore. Starting to get some minor cravings right now, but it's almost midnight and I should typically be asleep by now anyways. As a whole the diet was very good again, would have like to consume a little more water but this has been my most healthy diet week of my life probably.
ποΈββοΈ Workouts
Running Workout:
- Type: 3 Mile Run at 9:11 Pace
- Duration: 27 minutes
- Intensity: Hard
- Notes on Workout: Run felt good. Legs felt fresh and strong. Felt really good for the first mile-mile and a half. Start to feel burnout coming around the 15 minute mark. Still building the fitness and endurance back up. Have a long way to go. Felt good to get the legs back under me some and be able to push it at least a little bit. Will plan on an easy run / walk tomorrow most likely.
Gym Workout:
- Type: Prehab
- Duration: 45 minutes
- Intensity: Easy
- Notes on Workout: Can't get prehab app to cooperate to pull up notes on new workout and new exercises from today. Workout was ok though, wasn't horrible, wouldn't say it was great. Definitely feel weakness with the new movements I haven't done in a long time, but that's ok. Legs feel like they're slowly getting some strength back, left shoulder still feels like there's some dysfunction that's going to take some time to get rid of. Happy with the leg strength coming back some though!
π Thoughts & Reflections
- Energy Levels: Low - Medium. Need to get more and better sleep to see more improvements in the energy levels.
- Recovery Check: Body feels good. Slowly getting a little stronger, but have lost so much strength overall. One day at a time. Not too much fatigue yet, running legs will probably be tired tomorrow but should be ready for another prehab workout tomorrow night.
- Biggest Win Today: Getting a new haircut
- Challenges Faced: Alfa Insurance company lolol. Finally got them to cut me a check and that nightmare to deal with is overrrrrr.
- Plan for Tomorrow: Hopefully sleep well tonight. Might spoil myself with a good coffee tomorrow, we'll see. Will eat a nice big lunch with lots of calories, and then might try to eat a smaller dinner. We'll see how we feel tomorrow. Been a good week so far!
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Overall Thoughts on Today: Today was a good day, same results with my diet as the rest of the week, ate nice and clean with no cheating or breaks. I still feel like I need to get better rest. The reported hours on my watch I feel are definitely not accurate.Β
I was going through your entries and had that exact thought about two seconds before reading the italicized sentence. I use a Coros 3 and love it, generally, with just a couple of exceptions. (I won't get started on how I royally messed up the multi-sport option on workout choices last week.) I think it overestimates my sleep, ie, if I'm awake but lying in bed it records the time as sleeping. The watch seems to do better tracking when I go from awake to asleep at night, but it doesn't usually catch my pattern of waking up too early unless I actually get out of bed, and that's frustrating.
On another note, nice work on the Panama City Beach Half Iron in 2021. Did you log the number of hours you worked out in the months leading up to the race? I hear everything online from 10 to 30 hours of weekly practice. Right now, with a super sprint tri next weekend, I'm getting in about 5 hours of training, counting working out with weights (the 4th discipline of triathlon, right?). Doubling that number is so daunting, but the bike leg is what needs the most work and will take the most time if I want to go further with endurance racing.
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Sorry for just now responding! My health got put on the back burner for the last two months and haven't been on MFP lately.
Yes, I agree with everything about the activity trackers.
As far as the 70.3, I probably spent around 2 hours a day total every day getting ready for the race. Including the time getting ready and unwinding from training. Some times it was probably closer to 2.5 but it was mostly 2 hours a day of training. So I was probably anywhere from 14-20 hours a week training. It's definitely a big commitment!
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